The work deals with the evolution of the stresses and the damage in ta
rgets with thin protective layers due to perpendicular high-velocity w
aterdrop impacts. The analysis involves a modeling of the impact in th
e liquid and the solid, and exploration of possible damage mechanisms
in the coating and the substrate. We identify three state of stresses
that can produce damage, radial tensile stresses that propagate on the
surface of the coating, subsurface shear stresses that develop at the
coating-substrate interface, and bending stresses near the inner face
of the coating. The patterns of these stresses and the locations wher
e they develop are in good agreement with experimental findings. The i
ntensities and the impulses of the stresses are related to the impact
velocity by a power-law rule reminiscent of the one used in experiment
ally motivated damage criteria. We find that the peak of the tensile s
tresses propagates on the surface of the coating at the speed of the R
ayleigh wave in the substrate. The possible role of the subsurface she
ar stresses in the evolution of damage in coated targets is also discu
ssed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.